My Beloved Coconut Head
by Aegismaiden
Summary: Fred creates an evil plot to get his freedom from the twin stereotype. Includes coconuts, bets, quidditch, and now, the epilogue. COMPLETE! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I'VE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF COCONUTS!" sang an obnoxious voice from the next room. "HERE THEY ARE STANDING IN A ROOOOOW!"

"BIG ONES! SMALL ONES! ONES AS BIG AS YOUR HEAD!" an identical voice yelled, joining in the chorus.

Jessica Baine was deeply regretting teaching that muggle song to her two best friends, Gred and Forge, whoops, Fred and George Weasley. Ever since she had taught it to them, they had sung the song throughout the house at the top of their lungs. She tried to focus on the book in front of her, but it was no good.

"FRED! GEORGE! SHUT UP OR I WILL PERSONALLY HEX YOU INTO NEXT FRIDAY!" she finally bellowed.

The song came nearer. "O! I'VE GOT A LOVELY BUNCH OF—"

"COCONUT HEADS!" she yelled as the red haired twins entered the room with arms linked. "Do I need to produce a silencing charm?"

"Come on, Jessica, we were only having a bit of fun," George grinned.

"You guys have been having that bit of fun for the past week," sighed Jessica.

"Ah, Jess, when will you learn that the annoyer's work is never done," said Fred, as if to a young child.

"Yes, but you're not supposed to be annoying your best friend!"

"Why? Fred and I annoy each other all the time!" George pointed out.

"You could do that to each other by living," Jessica mumbled.

Fred was adamant. "That's why we're alive, Jess, to annoy others!"

"Yes, but could you limit how much you annoy me in a day?" she pleaded.

"All right, I'd say, we can annoy you for sixteen hours out of a day."

"Well, at least it lets me sleep. I can't even do that around here."

"What can we say? A businessman's job is never done."

"So you are a businessman and an annoyer at the same time?"

"Of course, my dear. Why do you think that our job is to create products that annoy others? Those two straits coincide so beautifully."

A chuckle escaped her lips. She had lost the battle of wits. "All right, guys, but could you stop singing for now?"

They looked at each other with matching smiles on their faces. "Okay."

She looked at the two of them. They turned to her, still smiling. "What?" she asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

Fred was the first to jump, with George almost directly after. She gasped and attempted to run, but it was too late. "TICKLE TORTURE!" they screamed together.

"NO!" she cried, but it was drowned out by the laughter bubbling up inside her. The agony continued for two minutes straight but finally, they let up. Jessica gasped for breath, her face red and tear-covered from laughter. The twins stood on either side of their panting friend, smiling at her.

"You (gasp) are the most (gasp) immature (gasp) twenty year olds (gasp) the world has ever (gasp) known!" she screamed as best she could. Her hand was halfway to her wand when a doorbell rang.

"Customers!" the twins exclaimed together and apparated into the next room.

Jessica groaned and stood up, ribs still sore from her thorough tickling. Opening the door, she saw that the customer was in fact Lee Jordan, good friend to the twins. They were talking excitedly about their newest product.

"Guys, you know, you can just open a door. You don't have to apparate through every single wall you need to go through," she said, slightly annoyed.

"But it is so much fun!" George said, handling the product dangerously in his hands as he smiled at Jessica.

"You know Lee, right?" Fred asked.

"Sadly, yes," she commented. She had met Lee many times. Fred had a fascination with the idea that she and Lee would make a cute couple. Lee had no problem, but Jessica could not stand the way he flirted with her all the time.

"Hey, gorgeous," Lee said, with what some girls would assume to be a charming smile.

Every time guys hit on her, Jessica got really uptight and uneasy. She attempted to appear detached. "Hey, Lee. What are you doing here?"

"Just picking up Weasley's new product: the dung swamp," Lee said, looking Jessica over.

"Like I don't know what their newest product is, Lee. I was the main designer."

Lee gave her an impressed look. "I thought you were just the secretary."

Fred stepped in. "She is. She knocked over a bag of dungbombs which were located right next to the portable swamps. They reacted to create a rather remarkably scented bog."

"Fred, you weren't supposed to let that out!" Jessica said, nudging her friend.

"Whoops," Fred said insincerely.

"Needless to say, we rearranged the store, moving the ingredients to separate walls," George said.

"So where's the swamp going to?"

"Hogwarts. My younger brother is going there, and I give these babies to him to sneak in."

Jessica smirked. "The legacy of the Weasleys just cannot leave Hogwarts, can it?"

"Of course not, Jess, what were you thinking?" George said, laughing.

"I was thinking that the professors might like a break."

The three boys snorted. "Never!" the twins said together.

A new customer entered, and the twins left Jessica alone with Lee. Jessica wracked her brain for an excuse to leave Lee, but none came.

"I'll check out then, shall I?" Lee asked her.

"I guess." Jessica headed to the cash register and scanned the price. Lee looked up at her as she went through the process.

He looked at her head, willing her to look up. She did and gave him a Look.

"That'll be eighteen sickles and two knuts," she said, breaking eye contact.

"Don't I get a discount?"

"No," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"All right." Lee dug for the change in his pocket and handed it to her. His hand remained on her's for a brief moment longer than normal, and she moved away deliberately, handing him the canister in a Weasley's Wizard Wheezes bag. Lee looked at her, trying to make eye contact. Not succeeding, he just jumped on to ask her what he had truly come to the store for.

"Hey, Jess, do you think that you and I could go out sometime?"

Jessica looked up and made hard eye contact with Lee. "What?" The shock was evident on her face.

Lee mentally slapped himself. "I was wondering if you could go out sometime with me." No going back now.

"Erm, Lee, I'm not that type of girl. I just don't have time for that right now."

Lee looked down at his feet, picking his bag up. "Well, think about it."

He walked dejectedly out, but Jessica thought that she had imagined the flash of a smile towards Fred. George looked towards Jessica worriedly. She pretended to be distracted, arranging a display of Canary Creams. Fred, however, inched his way closer to her.

"So," he said in Jessica's ear. She jumped and turned quickly, nearly colliding with his nose.

"What, Fred?"

George moved to her other side with an impish grin on his face. "What happened at the counter?" he asked innocently.

"Lee asked me out and I told him that I didn't have time for a relationship right now."

George grinned, but Fred pressed further. "Jessica, how long in a day do you work with us, tops?"

"About 10 hours a day, not including the breaks I spend with you guys and stuff."

"Exactly. How many free days do you get a week?" Fred pushed.

"Two."

"Do you ever use them?"

Jessica hung her head. "I use Sunday, but guys, what would I even do with that extra day? Where would I go?"

"On a date with Lee, where else?" Fred said, pleased with himself.

"I am not going on a date with Lee."

"Yes you are. I am going to pay you a normal day's work for going on a date with Lee. How's that?"

"Look, guys, I don't even like Lee. Why would I go on a date with someone I don't like?"

"Well, then, who _do _you like?" George asked, a little too quickly.

"No one."

Fred snorted. "We will _try_ to believe you."

"Well, it is true!"

"Riiight," George scoffed.

"You guys are hopeless!"

"No, we just don't believe you."

"Honestly. You guys have known me for two years, and you still don't know when I'm telling the truth?"

"Nope," Fred answered promptly.

"So, guys, if I say yes to a date with Lee, you will immediately assume that I like him. But if I say no, you will just keep pestering me. I guess I should choose the lesser of two evils and go on the date."

Fred clapped. "Good choice. I don't think he's left Diagon Alley yet." He pushed Jessica towards the door.

"Guys!"

"Go do it!"

"What?"

"Go!" Fred said, smiling.

"All right, guys, all right, let me go!" She looked back at them as she opened the door. "Don't you dare try those Extendable Ears or attempt to follow me!"

The mischievous looks on the twins' faces disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Jessica walked out into the December cold, forgetting her jacket and robe. _I am an idiot_, she thought as she rubbed her arms. Thankfully, Lee had not gotten very far. She recognized the bright colored Weasley's Wizard Wheezes bag first, then the dreadlocks on his head.

"LEE!" she screamed to get his attention. He turned and flashed a smile.

"Yes, gorgeous."

Gathering up her courage, Jessica dived right in. "One, my name is Jessica Baine, not gorgeous. Two, the twins talked me into going on that date."

"The twin_s_?" he asked in shock. He seemed to stress the 's' on the end, but Jessica thought she had imagined it.

"Why wouldn't they? You're their best friend."

"Well, that is almost true. You're just as close to them as I am."

"At least you're a guy. They can't share everything with me. You know all their secrets."

"You got that right," he mumbled almost incoherently.

"What?"

"Nothing." He sighed. "Well, what do you say to Thursday, six o'clock at _La Maison de Cher_?"

"Sure."

"I'll pick you up from the shop, okay?"

"That's fine, Lee."

"I'll see you then!"

Jessica walked away from Lee feeling like something was wrong.

Back in the shop, Fred and George were having a debate. Their faces were inches from the others' and both wore fiery expressions.

"Fred, why'd you have to talk her into the date with Lee? She obviously doesn't like him."

"She just needed a little push."

"A little push towards what, exactly? Lee breaking her heart? Breaking Lee's heart?"

Fred sniggered. "Something tells me he's going to be fine with it."

"If he breaks her heart, you are responsible."

"Why would I be responsible? You were pushing too!"

"You are always the instigator! I was just going along with it before I realized."

"Does this go back to the five minutes between our births?"

"No, where'd you get that from?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe from the fact that, after all, I was born before you, and with that come natural characteristics."

"We are identical, Fred."

"But only in appearance. Our personalities differ in certain places. Remember that, dear brother."

"We spend every moment of our lives annoying the other. When do I have a chance to remember that?"

"Because, contrary to popular belief, we are different. Two separate people. That's what we are. You just haven't realized it yet."

Jessica entered, smiling gloomily. "Hey, Gred and Forge."

"Hey, how'd it go?"

"We're going on Thursday, six o'clock at _Le Maison de Cher_." She sighed. "Fred, George, I'm just not sure about this. I feel horrible, getting a guy's hopes up like this. I know I don't like him, and I'm sure he knows that too."

"If he did, why'd he ask you?" Fred asked sensibly.

"That's what I don't know. Am I weird to think there's an ulterior motive?"

Fred laughed it off. "Why would there be a hidden purpose? Lee is not the most creative person."

"I don't know; maybe I've been imagining stuff lately."

"Well, imagine us up some new products. Maybe you could sweep for us again, this time near the Skiving Snackboxes," George said.

"Ha, ha," Jessica laughed sarcastically.

"Well, you need to get to work now, you lazy girl! This is your boss speaking!" Fred said, smirking.

"Who are you calling lazy?"

"You?" George said, pointing to the line. There were five people with purchases waiting to check out.

"Oh my word!" Jess yelped before jumping behind the counter and apologizing to the first customer.

Fred and George watched as she efficiently checked out the shoppers. She tucked her straight brown hair behind her ear and reached for another bag. George's eyes followed her every movement with a tenderness that was reserved only for her. Fred turned his view from Jessica to his brother, noticing the tenderness in his eye. Jessica smiled at a small customer in Hogwarts robes asking how to use a product. Her hazel eyes sparkled with laughter as the girl made a small joke about the oblivious person the purchase was going to.

She was not beautiful to everyone, but to George, she was gorgeous. George did not see her figure or how her hips moved when she walked. He saw only her face. She had this persona about her that made any human that knew her look at her face and pay attention to what she was saying. Her smiles were always sincere; her eyes would fill with worry at the slightest implication that something was wrong. Though George did not know it, he loved her.

Fred smirked at his brother and slapped his brother on the back, breaking George from his reverie. "Well, George, my boy, looks like we've finally managed to pair her off, get her off of our hands. I bet you that she and Lee will be married before summer."

George smiled grimly. "How much?"

"What?"

"How much do you bet? You better bet high," George said, gritting his teeth.

"I say ten galleons."

"I say twenty."

"Well, George, I don't normally bet that much, but you know how I am. Reckless in the way of money. I think I'm going to win, unless you have something to tell me."

"Nothing to tell you yet, brother, save to prepare yourself to lose a bet."

"I think not." Fred walked away into the next room, smiling to himself. His evil plan was working, but man, was it ever going to cost a lot of money. No going back now.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Thursday came too quickly and Jessica found herself getting ready in the back of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She brushed her long brown hair away from her eyes and attached a small barrette to a small bunch of hair above her forehead.

"Got a hot date?" the mirror asked Jessica in an alluring tone. Making a note to never use the male mirror ever again, Jessica headed out to the store. Lee was not there yet, so she took a few more orders.

George came up behind her. "You are off right now!"

"I know, but there's nothing better to do."

"You could be waiting for Lee."

"I am. He's not here yet."

"You shouldn't be doing this. Here." He reached forward and took the bag she was filling with purchases from her. His breath caught as he touched her hand slightly. His ears turned slightly red, but she did not notice.

"George, I'm here, I work for you guys. I can't be here and _not_ work. You're paying me anyway. It just doesn't seem possible for me."

"Why? Have you lived?"

Jessica looked taken aback as her face adopted a faraway expression, and George was immediately sorry. "Look, George, I have lived. The life out there for me leads nowhere. I have a job, and it is my life."

"That is so sad, Jessica. The world is not against you, if you haven't noticed."

The girl's soft face took on a professional sort of terse look that rivaled Professor McGonagall. "I have noticed, thank you very much, but I don't want to leave you guys alone."

"Alone?" He waved his hands at all the customers. "Does this look alone to you?"

"These people are not close to you."

"Jessica, you've always been guarded when it comes to people close to you. Why are you like this?"

"If you lose someone close to you, you would too."

"Is this about your parents?"

"No, this is not about my parents. They died before I became too close to them."

"Then who'd you lose?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

George's voice went so tender that Jessica nearly gasped at the tone. "Time is running out, Jess. Sooner or later, you'll find someone and then I'll never know."

"I promise I'll tell you one day," Jessica said.

"You promise me?"

"I promise."

"You have to shake on that one." He held his hand out. Jessica smiled at him before slipping her hand into his and shaking it firmly.

Lee walked into the store then. Jessica self consciously took her hand out of George's and walked over to him.

"Well, let's be going." Lee led her to the busy December street. "Well, when deciding where to take a lovely lady like you, only one place came to mind. I thought _La Maison de Cher_ is the only place for Jessica Baine."

Jessica blushed. "Lee! I'm not _that _pretty!"

"You are beautiful, no matter what the Weasley twins may think."

Jessica was immediately interested. "What _do_ they think?"

Lee looked up at the starlit sky. "Well, Fred thinks of you as such a good friend, and couldn't think one way or another, because you are just his friend, and seriously, he couldn't think otherwise of you. Now, George is a whole different matter. I've heard him say that you are absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful friend he ever had. Honestly, if I didn't know that he's just your friend, I'd be jealous and cautious of him."

Jessica looked away. For some reason, the description of George's opinion of her made her face fall. "Well, they are both my friends."

"I know that, and I'm glad I don't have them for competition. With George Weasley for competition, I would be pranked from every side!"

Jessica laughed forcedly. "That you would!"

"Ah, here we are!" Lee pointed at a sleigh with Thestrals reigned to it.

All Jessica could do was stare. "I thought we were going to _La Maison de Cher_!"

"We are! This is what's going to take us there!"

Lee smiled charmingly. "A lovely lady like you should ride in style!"

Blushing, Jessica allowed herself to be handed into the carriage. Lee got in and then tapped the side of the carriage with his wand. Jessica could not help but enjoy the ride. She saw witches shopping for Christmas gifts and such, and as they rode along, the snow began to fall.

Lee looked at his date. He did not have a crush on her, but being romantic around her was amazingly easy. She seemed to have such a huge heart, ready and waiting for love. It just needed to find the right one, or realize that she already knew him. Her brown hair fluttered slightly in the breeze and he made a mental note to tell George that Jessica's beauty is enhanced by snow. She turned and smiled at him.

"This is wonderful!"

When they reached their destination, he helped her out of the carriage and led her into the large restaurant. Her jaw dropped as she entered. Chandeliers and candles were everywhere. The waiters and waitresses were dressed in tuxedos and had white napkins draped on their arms as they conducted food to each table.

A host came up to them. "Monsieur, Mademoiselle, do you have a reservation?"

Lee stepped forward. "Yes, Jordan, for two?"

"Oui, Monsieur, this way please." He gracefully led the twosome to a small candlelit table in a darkened corner of the restaurant. He left their menus to them and went back to his station.

"Order whatever you want," Lee whispered in her ear.

Jessica blushed and looked at the menu. The prices were insanely high. "Lee, are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Well, then, I don't even have to look. Can I get lobster?"

"You can get something more than that if you like."

"I have not had lobster since…" her voice trailed off.

"Since when?"

"Since a long time," she said unconvincingly.

Lee raised an eyebrow, but did not push because the waitress came back.

"Are you ready to order?"

"Yes, please, we'd like two lobsters and," he said as he turned to Jessica, "what would you like to drink?"

"Water."

"A water," he said, raising his eyebrow again at her, "and a glass of merlot, please."

"Oui, Monsieur." She left the table.

"Just water?"

"It's the best thing for you, and it's all I wanted."

"All right. You would be a cheap date if I took you anywhere else," he laughed. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"Well, nothing much, just working."

"Is that really all you do?"

"Yes, pretty much. I enjoy it. It keeps my mind off everything else."

"What's everything else?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to find out. How about you?"

"Well, you know me, the usual mischief making, selling Quidditch supplies. I'd like to be a Quidditch announcer."

"Have you tried?"

"Well, I was the announcer at Hogwarts, but that never gets you anywhere."

"I see. You should give it a shot."

"Thanks. I'd like to. What exactly do you do at WWW?"

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? Mostly keep the twins in check, keep them from ripping each other apart, while attempting to keep the store in order."

"What do they do?"

"Well, most of the time they invent stuff, but when they're not; Fred's taken to checking the girls out while George has taken to sneaking up behind me and surprising me in the middle of whatever I'm doing."

"I see." The conversation was going exactly where he wanted it to. "Why do you think he does that?"

"I don't exactly know. I think he's bored in some respects. I think he and his brother are not as close as they used to be. In all honesty, I think Fred wants to break away while George wants to get out of Fred's rule."

"Couldn't have put it better myself."

"Poor George. If they'd only communicate about it, things would happen."

"Think about their personality, though. Wouldn't Fred want to go about it the sneaky way, throwing as many pranks into the pot as possible?"

Jessica laughed. "Yeah, Fred would do that."

Their food arrived. As they ate, they talked about nothing in particular. They ordered a large Baklava for dessert and split it. On the way back, Lee was thinking to himself how well he had gotten out on his end of the deal. All he had to do was ask her out again, keep her as his girlfriend. It would be difficult, because if Jessica saw no spark, she was the type of girl to break it off immediately to save breaking any guy's heart. The maintaining of the relationship would be up to Fred.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Back at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, George sat in the dim room restocking and cleaning. It took his mind off the fact that Jessica was on a date with his best friend, or at least that was what he wished it would do. Just the thought of her out with Lee made him sick. He had skipped dinner and had chosen to stay behind at the store when Fred apparated to their flat. He sighed as he picked up another dung swamp, and again, Jessica's laughing image came into his head. She was so beautiful.

_Wait a second! I'm not supposed to like my friend, that's crazy! No, she's out with Lee. Ouch, that hurt. But I'm beginning to think that I like her. Is that crazy? Should I run away? I don't want to hurt, but its worse not seeing her at all. I have to remain calm. Remain calm. Calm._

Jessica, laughing from Lee's most recent joke, opened the door of the store to see George staring at her. She had returned from her date, and her cheeks were exceptionally flushed. She was too beautiful for him and all reasoning placed in him by the hours he had been alone in the store flew out the window.

"Hey, Jess, how was it?" He was sure his ears were turning red.

"It was wonderful! Lee took me to _La Maison de Cher_. That place is jaw dropping amazing! He took me for a sleigh ride and then back here. Short, but sweet."

George forced a smile. "That's great."

Jessica looked around the room, now only lit by a chandelier in the middle. Her smile was fading off of her face as she thought back over the date. George turned around and noticed Jessica's slightly crestfallen face.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. Jessica turned to him, trying to fake a smile.

"I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. Did Lee try to pull anything on you?"

"No, no! It was a wonderful date. It's just that…"

"Just what?" George prompted.

"I don't _like_ Lee, I never have. I feel bad going out with him when I have no feelings for him."

George almost breathed a sigh of relief, but caught himself. "I'm sorry."

"I feel like I'd be leading him on if I went out with him again, but I don't want to let Fred down."

"You won't. Don't worry, everything will be fine," George said soothingly. He wanted to wrap her in an embrace, but wasn't sure how she would feel. "Well, Lee's a coconut head just like us."

Jessica laughed softly. "Not quite. He's not such an adorable coconut head as you and Fred." _Did I just say that?_ She thought to herself.

"He's a little softer around the edges."

"I'm sure that you and Fred are much softer on the inside though, someone just has to reach beyond the jokes and pray for mercy when he or she finds the softness."

"Why would he or she pray for mercy?"

"Because you guys would throw tons of pranks so that he or she would not realize when she found the soft inside."

George laughed, putting down a dung swamp. "That's the last of it," he sighed.

"Since when do you work late?"

"Since I felt like it."

"More like since I wasn't here to do it for you guys."

"Something like that. Hey, look. I need to get some Christmas presents, but I'm not sure what to get everyone. Could you go Christmas shopping with me next Saturday night?"

It had slipped out. George wanted to hex his tongue into the beyond, but didn't think it would be wise, seeing as his tongue was already dry enough.

"Sure," she said happily. George's heart leapt. "I need your help to find Lee something."

George's heart plummeted to through the floor. "You aren't going to accept his next date offer, are you?"

"I think I should give him one more chance. I was too wrapped up in worry about what would happen if I cared for someone again to actually see the real Lee."

"Okay, well, another thing. My mum was hoping that if you aren't doing anything on Christmas, that you could come to our house for our Christmas dinner."

"Oh, George, I couldn't impose."

"Mum wants to meet you. I told her that you live alone, and she told me to invite you. What would you do anyway?"

"I'd probably be alone at my house."

"Exactly. Say you'll come?"

"Sure, I'll come. What time?"

"About noon."

"Okay."

Jessica looked around the room. All sense of what to do next had left her completely. If she had asked herself then, she wouldn't have been able to answer for the excitement that overwhelmed her when she thought about going Christmas shopping with George. Her mind wandered for a few minutes longer, then she remembered where she was and who she was with.

"Oh, I think I'll go and get my stuff."

"Yeah, I should apparate home, too."

With a crack, George was gone, and with him gone, Jessica came back to her sense and apparated home.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you so much to my reviewer! I have a lot of free time to update whenever I choose, so the more reviews, the faster the chapters come! I'm not going to add Ch. 6 until I get at least two more reviews. I appreciate any creative criticism, so if you have any ideas on how I can improve as a writer, please tell me. This story is completely written, so I can't change anything, but I have so many stories that I am writing and all of them need help in their own ways. Anyway, enjoy!

The days until Saturday were the average day of work, eating and sleeping. On Saturday, however, Jessica woke up with excitement running through her.

_Oh, please,_ she thought,_ why am I so excited about Christmas shopping? Yeah, it's fun, but is it seriously because George is coming?_

She took more care to what she wore, again wondering why in the world it was such a big deal. After all, it was only George.

Work seemed to go slowly, but finally, they were out in the streets of Diagon Alley, looking in the shop windows as the snow fell softly about them. George forced himself to look in the windows of shops to keep from looking at Jessica. First, they headed to Gringotts Bank to extract money from their vaults. When the entered, the familiar feeling of discomfort enveloped Jessica and unknowingly, she drew closer to George.

"Miss Jessica Baine would like to remove money from vault 671," Jessica said hesitantly at the sharp look from the goblin at the main desk.

"And I'd like to take money from vault 923, for Fred and George Weasley," Fred said confidently.

"Do you have your key?" the goblin croaked.

"Yes," George said. Jessica could only nod.

"Follow me please."

They followed the waddling goblin to the track where a cart was waiting to take them under Diagon Alley. Though Jessica was wary of the goblins, she loved riding the carts. She settled herself in and secured her hair. George sat beside her, also looking forward to their ride. The goblin released the brake holding the car in place, and Jessica let out a whoop of laughter while George pretended to be falling out of the sides of the car.

Finally, they reached Jessica's vault. George helped her out and stood beside her as the goblin unlocked the vault and handed her the key. George could not help but gasp as he looked inside. It was nearly empty. A small stack of galleons was located near two columns of knuts. Behind them, a small pile of sickles glittered in the torchlight. Jessica blushed as George's jaw dropped to the floor. She self consciously counted out an exact number of galleons, sickles, and knuts placing them carefully into her purse.

George helped her back into the rolling cart, but the ride seemed to have lost its normal fun. How could Jessica have so little? He decided to give her a pay raise at next chance. George wanted to save her the trouble of seeing his vault, but before he could stop her, she came to stand beside him as the goblin opened his safe. Jessica gaped, too, at the amount of gold and silver in his vault. George walked in and grabbed a few handfuls of galleons and walked out, avoiding eye contact with Jessica.

Once they were out in the free air of Diagon Alley, all apprehension left and the delights of the Christmas season set in.

"Oh, I'm glad to be out of there," George breathed.

"I like roller coasters!" Jessica exclaimed.

"What's that?"

"It's a muggle sort of train on a track, like Gringotts, only ten times better and safer!"

"Wow! Does it run on eclectricity?"

"_Electricity_, and yes."

"Well, where to first?"

"How about Laeticia's Gift Shoppe?"

"Sounds good to me!" George said, smiling.

Inside the shop, Jessica tried to veil her desiring eyes as she saw all the beautiful jewelry and turned to the discount section. George noticed her eyes drawn to a particular necklace. It was silver, with a single sapphire charm on it. He made a mental note. In the discount section, George watched with interest as she picked out the most amazing things from what seemed like an impossible wall of junk.

She made her purchases after debating long and hard to keep everything under her budget and still have money for food. She had bought a gift for each of the Weasleys and snuck a couple of pieces to Fred and George's gift. She had yet to find a gift for Lee, though.

George headed to Quality Quidditch Supplies to get a gift for his brothers. While he perused the selection, a magazine caught Jessica's eye. On the front, it said _Win Four Tickets to a Puddlemere United Match!_ For some reason, she could not get the magazine out of her mind as George made his purchases. At the last minute, she grabbed the magazine and bought it. George waited as she filled the form out and ran to the Owl Post Office. She tied the prepaid envelope to an owl's leg and it flew away.

"Why are you so excited about the chance in a million to get tickets to a Puddlemere game?"

"If I win, it'll be the perfect gift for Lee. I'm still going to get him something if I find it."

George tried to smile.

"Don't worry, guess who else would get the other two tickets?"

"Who?"

"Only my favorite twins!"

"Really?"

"Of course! Who else do I know?"

"Good point. Want a Snout Pop? My treat?"

A vendor was passing them with some candy on his tray. "Sure!"

George paid for two and they walked contentedly down the street through the dwindling traffic of people. At nine thirty, they still had not found the perfect gift for Lee, so they decided to call it quits.

"Sorry I dragged you through all those shops," Jessica apologized.

"No problem. It was fun! Now I just need to figure out how to wrap a gift."

"Don't tell me you have never wrapped a gift before!"

"Sorry, can't say that I have. Every time I try the charm, it ends up backwards or something."

"Well, you can always do it muggle style, that's what I do."

"I always end up with a mass of tape and ripped paper."

Jessica giggled. "I'll teach you."

"You will?"

"Of course. Come on, we'll have to floo because you don't know where you're going."

They headed to the floo station and a minute later, they were standing, ash encrusted, in Jessica's living room. The house was eerily quiet, especially with the snow falling outside. Jessica set her gifts down on the kitchen counter and brushed dust off of her robes. George followed her in, setting his purchases down as well.

"You live here alone?"

"Yeah," said Jessica as she leafed through a closet looking for the wrapping supplies.

"I'd find it amazingly odd to live alone." His voice echoed through the empty halls.

Jessica stood up, surveying her house. "I guess so. This house holds too many memories for me to move out."

"What kind of memories?"

Looking away from George's prying eyes, she said, "I don't want to burden you with that."

"Come on, you promised me you'd tell me!"

"One day, George, one day." She held up three rolls of festive wrapping paper, some different colors of ribbon, and a roll of tape. "Come on."

She led him to the living room and put her things down. George brought her gifts to her, along with his.

"First of all, what paper would you like?"

"I'll take the red and white striped."

"All right. Now what you're going to do is unroll a good amount of paper and place the gift on top. Now, you need to cut the paper off and pull it to the top of the box. Tape it here." She pointed to the seam, and George attempted to cut the tape, ending up with a length of tape two times longer than he needed. Laughing, she took the tape from him and told him to hold the seam. She cut a proper length of tape and rubbed it down onto the gift. "Now you are going to want to fold these ends down, creating a triangle." She looked up at George's vacant face. "You _do_ know what a triangle is, right?"

"Yeah," he said, shaking his head. He had been looking at Jessica again. _Focus. She has a boyfriend, remember? You are just best friend._

She taped one side of the box up well then did the other one. Reaching for a roll of red ribbon, she cut a long length and turned the box over. "Okay, the ribbon. You are going to want to slide it through the bottom until it's even." She deftly slid the ribbon up and held it over her head, carefully making the ribbon ends meet. "Now cross it here and pull it tight. Turn the box back over and tie a half knot." Jessica blushed as she realized what she was going to need next. "I'm going to need your finger."

"What?"

"Give me your finger."

George stuck his index finger out and she took it, placing it on the half knot. Ignoring George's face of what she assumed was disgust, she tied another half knot, tightening it slowly. "You might want to remove your finger now, unless you want to be tied to the gift until it's opened."

George laughed and slipped his finger out of the hole. She tightened the knot quickly and made a bow. She took scissors and opened them, curling the edges. Jessica handed it to George for his inspection. He laughed and held his next gift out to her.

"Your turn," she said, refusing to take the gift. George's shocked face was enough to make her chuckle. "You try!"

George, ears red, unrolled the paper and put the gift on top of the paper. He fumblingly went through the steps of wrapping the gift. When it came to the ribbon, he was sure his ears were so red that they blended in with his hair, but Jessica did not make him ask for her finger. She simply placed it on top when the moment came. George tried not to make eye contact as he tied the knot above her finger. In the end, he had a loosely wrapped gift, but a wrapped gift nonetheless.

"Good!" she exclaimed.

"No it's not; it's a horribly wrapped gift!"

She was serious, though. "No, it's great try! You'll get better! Come on, do another!"

They passed the time wrapping gifts and laughing together. Finally, a good sized stack of gifts lay beside each person. George sighed and looked around the room.

"I didn't know you lived in a house."

"Where else would I live?"

"I thought you rented a flat or apartment or something."

"No, I own it."

"How?"

"I don't want to go into detail. I guess you could say I inherited it."

"From your parents?"

"No."

"Who then?"

Jessica's eyes stared off sadly into space and George did not push.

"Can I have a tour?"

"Of course!" Jessica jumped up and led him into the hallway. "All right, I'll try not to make this too boring. This is the- the family room," she said, blushing. "Over here, we have a bathroom, and over here is the study." She moved on, but left one door unexplained. George decided to overlook it until later. She led him up the steps. "This is the guest room, another bathroom, another guest room, and my room."

She opened a door leading into a turquoise blue room. It might have been cheery, but the stark emptiness of the room was overwhelming. There was a single bed, white curtains, a dresser, a desk, and a closet. There was nothing on the floor; the room was almost too clean. Jessica smiled glumly and led George back down the stairs. As they passed the unexplained door again, George's curiosity got the better of him.

"What's in there?"

Jessica's face went white and she stuttered. "N-nothing!"

"Right. Are there presents in there or something?"

"Absolutely not!"

"_Alohomora_!" George said, pointing his wand at the lock. The door swung open and they both gasped. Jessica looked beyond George to see a dead body lying on the floor.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm really not evil enough; I'm really a pushover. I should keep y'all in suspense and not update for another week, but I have nothing better to do with my time at the moment. So, without further ado, Chapter 6!

At closer inspection, Jessica saw that it was her own body. George stared at it, aghast but, after a moment, Jessica realized that it was a boggart. Forcefully, Jessica pushed George out of the way. It whirled around and turned into a version of George's dead body. Though she was scared as well, a red blush came to her face.

"_Riddikulus_!" she said to the body, pointing her wand at it. It did not turn into anything funny, but turned into dead body that George did not recognize.

George saw her face turn white as she dissolved into tears. He stepped beside her, taking her hand in his big one. Together, they said the charm. "_Riddikulus_!"

It turned into half dead George and half dead Jessica. George laughed first, Jessica managing a hiccup through her tears. The boggart disappeared with a crack, and they stood there, staring at the place that it used to be.

George breathed a sigh of relief and looked to Jessica. She was staring into the room. Slowly, as if in a dream, her hand slipped out of his and she entered the room. He had assumed that her tears would stop, but instead they became greater as she surveyed the dark room around her. Stepping up beside her, George lit his wand, igniting the candles that were about the room. In the proper light, George took in his surroundings.

There was a white four poster bed against the far wall, covered in white blankets with a white canopy hanging from the tips of the posts. Fresh flowers were in a vase and a bottle of champagne lay in ice beside it. A dresser that matched the bed sat in a corner, and a hope chest rested at the end of the bed. In contrast to Jessica's room, it was not stark, but sadness seemed to hang heavily on the space.

A sad "Oh!" escaped Jessica's lips and she put her hands to her wet eyes.

"Jessica?" George asked quietly. She did not answer. "Jessica?" he asked louder. She turned to him quietly, her face drenched with tears. "What is this room?"

A sob was his only answer. George did the only thing he could think of. He wrapped her in a warm, strong embrace. She sobbed quietly into his shoulder for a long time. He rubbed her back in an awkwardly soothing fashion and she broke away slowly.

"Thank you," she said, sniffling and attempting to wipe her eyes with her wet sleeves. George reached into his pocket and produced a handkerchief. She took it thankfully and mopped her face.

"What is this place?" he asked softly. She sank to the floor.

"It was to be my room. Mine and my husband's."

"You were married?"

"No, engaged. He had bought this house for us and we were supposed to get married two months. His parents were Pure Blood."

"And you were half blood," he finished gently.

"Yes. He died in this room. He had stayed behind to put the finishing touches on the bedroom and I had left. His parents found him and killed him exactly where you are standing. I found him the next morning." She stopped to wipe her eyes again. "I loved him so much, and he loved me. Yet, trouble seems to follow me everywhere. My parents were already dead and now my fiancé was killed. I wanted to die. That's why I throw myself into work so much; it keeps me from thinking about James."

She reached into her shirt and pulled out a locket on a chain, opening it. George sat cross legged on the floor as she showed the picture inside to him. Inside, a young man smiled charmingly and his eyes sparkled. He threw kisses to Jessica and winked. He was altogether happy.

"Jessica, I'm so sorry. Was that the—" George was not sure how to phrase the question, "the man that the boggart took the form of?"

"Yes. It was so much of a repeat of what I had seen over three years ago that I couldn't take it any more. Thank you for making it go away."

"It was no trouble. Thanks for stepping in for me."

Jessica sniffled again, her tears beginning to cease. "Thanks for being there for me. You are the first person I've told about James ever."

"You've kept him bottled up inside for three years?"

"Yes."

George looked around the room again. The fresh flowers and ice caught his eye. "Why are there fresh flowers in here?"

"I put a preservation spell on the room. See? The candles aren't burning either. I have never slept in this room. It is a virgin room, virgin bed, virgin everything." She stood up and moved to the closet. "Even a virgin dress. I've never worn it."

Opening the door, she exposed the most gorgeous wedding dress that George had ever seen to his view. It was white, with a beaded bodice and a long train. The neckline was a wide slit and the sleeves were about three quarter length. George knew that she would have been the most beautiful bride ever. As he watched, she reached up and pulled a veil down from the top section of the closet and held it up for his inspection.

"Beautiful," he breathed.

"The flowers there were to be my bouquet."

Her tears again threatened to spill over and George embraced her again tightly. "I am sorry for all that has happened to you. I promise that I'll be there for you if you need anyone to talk to. Don't keep your feelings bottled up inside you, all right?"

Jessica sniffled. "All right." She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. "I will talk to you next time I need a friend."

George's ears turned red, but when she said friend, his heart tore in two again. The solardial in the corner of the room showed eleven thirty.

"Jessica, I need to go before Fred thinks that we—I am up to something."

"All right." George prepared himself to apparate, but Jessica grabbed his hand. "George." He turned to her, wondering if she was going to kiss him like in so many books he had read. Instead, she looked at him with her expressive eyes. "Thanks."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At work on Monday, George's feelings were a muddled dump of confusedness. Jessica walked in and smiled at him. His heart leapt to the roof. Then his mind would bring it down with logic and reasoning.

_You like her. _His mind said to him constantly.

_She is my friend! Of course I don't like her you fool, go away!_ His other half argued back.

_I've always been here to tell you what you really think._

_But this isn't what I really think!_

_Uh, huh, yeah right._

_It ISN'T! _

_Why did the boggart turn into her then? Were you seriously thinking that your worst fear is her dead?_

_I was thinking about Christmas presents!_

_Then why did it turn into her?_

_I have no idea!_

_Because you like her and you don't want to lose her!_

_All right, if you want to play cheap, why did the boggart turn into me when she took it on?_

_Because she likes you back._

_HAH! If she likes me, then why is she Lee's girlfriend?_

_Because you talked her into it._

_Fred did!_

_You helped._

_I didn't like her then!_

_HA! Got you!_

_Grr…_

As this was going on in his mind, Lee entered the building, smile on his face and flowers in his hands. George's heart went through the floor.

"Hey, Jess, how are you this morning?"

"A little tired, you?"

"Very much awake. You look positively aglow."

"Well thank you, Lee."

"I wanted to thank you for a wonderful date last Thursday. Sorry I couldn't get in here sooner or owl you, I have been amazingly busy with the season."

"That's all right, Lee, I've been busy too."

"I am so sorry, I would be here to invite you to come with me for Christmas dinner, but some of my family got sick so it'll have to be just me."

"All right, Lee, sorry that all happened."

"So what did you do that made you so tired?"

"I went Christmas shopping last night and wrapped gifts for a while."

"Cool. Anything for me?" he smiled mischievously.

"No, not yet. I'm working on that."

Lee mock pouted. "Well, I have your gift."

"Oh, really?"

"Aren't you going to try to weasel it out of me?"

"No, I like my gifts to be a surprise."

"Well, then, being honorable? So be it! Look, I got to get to work, how about lunch?"

"That's great! Where?" she asked as Lee began to move towards the door.

"Leaky Cauldron!" he called back.

"I'll be there! What time?"

"One o'clock!"

"Okay!"

"See you, Gred and Forge!" Lee called in passing to his friends.

They waved back at Lee as he exited the shop. George busied himself with arranging a display. Fred watched him intently, gauging his brother's reaction to all of this. Finally, he walked up to him.

"Hey, bro."

"Hey," George answered shortly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"All right, choose not to tell me. So what did you do last night? You were back really late."

"I went shopping with Jessica. She couldn't find a gift for Lee, so we were out especially late. When we finished she was determined to teach me how to wrap gifts the muggle way. Then we—then I went home."

Fred raised his eyebrow suspiciously. "All right. Bro, you have got to get a move on, it looks like I'm winning. They've been dating for two weeks and they're going on that many dates!"

"I'm working on it. By the way, she's coming to Christmas dinner with us like mum asked."

"Great! She'll meet the whole family!"

"If mum doesn't scare her away."

"She won't. Jess is desperate for a parental figure in her life."

"How do you know?"

"Trust me."

Jessica walked up behind her friends, embracing both of them at once. Her face was glowing.

"Hey, guys, can I break for lunch at twelve forty-five?"

"Sure!" Fred said, smiling.

"No!" George exclaimed, surprised at his own daring.

Jessica looked back and forth at the two of them. "Why not, George?"

"Well, because, I need you to stock some more dung swamps! They're selling as fast as we make them!"

Jessica raised her eyebrow in the direction of her fast selling product. There were ten left. "Honestly, George, how many can sell in the space of four hours?"

"A lot! It's Christmas!"

"I'll stock them, George," said Fred, staring at his brother. "You won't deny her a date, will you?"

"You're going on another date? I thought you said…"

"I know, but I think I should give him another chance. After all, I just need to try. You even said that I need to let other people see me as me!"

"Yes, but—"

"But what, George?" she asked hotly. Then she realized what she had just said. "George, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that!"

Without a word, George stormed off into the back of the store and through the door that lead to the storeroom.

"Let him go," said Fred, noticing Jessica's troubled expression.

"What is up with him?"

"He's just being odd. I'll talk to him. Go on your date when it's time."

"Thanks."

Jessica's brow was furrowed as she walked away to help some children get a product from a high shelf. George had been acting weirdly ever since their outing. She could not call it a date because it was not, but in her heart she wished it had been.

_Wait a second, I do not wish it had been a date! I'm dating Lee! _She would tell herself.

_Then why did you panic when you thought about dating George?_

_I did NOT think that!_

_Yeah you did. Is it so hard to hear your heart speak?_

_Last time my heart spoke, it was not words; it was more of a wordless scream._

Jessica's conscience took on a softer tone._ I know that James's death hurt, but it has been three years._

_True love never dies._

_James would want you to find another man to love._

_I'm dating Lee! _Jessica defended.

_But do you love him?_

_Of course not! I've only been on one date with him!_

_Sometimes that's all it takes._

_I barely know Lee. I've always dreamt that I will have been friends with the man I marry for years, like James. _

_Like George?_

_What?_

_Do you love George?_

_What type of question is that?_

_A good one?_

_Har, har, very funny._

A young girl tapped her on the shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts and into the present.

"I'd like to check out now."

"Right, sure." Jessica headed to the cash register and checked the girl out. Her mind's contemplation would just have to wait.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

She met Lee for lunch at the Three Broomsticks, but something seemed to be missing. She remembered dates with James, and how wonderful he would make her feel. That was what it was like to be in love. She missed that, and she was not finding it with Lee. She felt guilty comparing Lee to the perfect James, but what could she do? She had known what it was like to have true love and she would forever be measuring everyone against James.

A barmaid met them at the entrance and led them to a table. They ordered butterbeers and looked at the menu. Finally, Jessica decided on a mutton, lettuce, and tomato sandwich while Lee got a hearty steak. Over butterbeer, they discussed their plans for the upcoming year.

"I don't think I can get out of Quality Quidditch Supplies, but I wish I could," Lee said wistfully. "What about you? Do you have a desire to leave the Weasley twins and their pranks?"

"Well, their pranks I could do without, but I don't think the twins could do with out me. On that night I went on a date with you, George was there after hours stocking and cleaning. They need me to do the work. You know them, party and pranks. That's all they would do if they could."

Lee laughed. "I see. You don't think you could abandon them. Do you think you would leave if given the chance?"

Their food arrived, and they were distracted for a few minutes. Lee repeated his question.

Jessica thought for a moment. "No, I don't think I would. We've been friends for so long, I don't think they could do without my help at their store."

"All right, put store aside. Given the chance, would you take a vacation from their pranks?"

"That's easy, Lee! Of course I would!" she smiled. Jessica's expression turned from one of amusement to a ponderous one. "No, actually I wouldn't. If you take away the pranks, what do you have left? The average, everyday, boring guy."

"Yeah, I guess they would." Lee looked into her deep hazel eyes. "Knut for your thoughts?"

"I was just thinking about Fred and George. Recently, George has been really moody while Fred has been a little too cheery. I think something's up."

"What makes you think that?"

"I just told you. George didn't want to let me come to this date. He's been really weird to me, but tries not to let on. In the meantime, Fred is egging his brother on. George has always been the follower, and for a while I thought Fred was getting annoyed with him, but everything went back to normal. Now that I think about it, it's overly normal."

"What do you mean by overly normal?"

"I mean it's almost faked. I'm sorry, I'm probably just reaching too deeply, but something tells me that I'm on the right track."

"You are," Lee said, then looked mortified. "I mean, you probably are. You're the best at reading people's feelings quickly, before they are covered up."

"That's what you think, and maybe I am. But for me, I'm always worried that people can read what I am feeling. James used to tell me that all a person has to do is look into my eyes and they know how I feel about something."

"Who's James?"

"A- a guy that I used to know."

"A guy. Really. Like a boyfriend?"

Jessica was in shock that she had just referred to James as a 'guy' that she used to know. "No, more than that. He was my fiancé."

"What? You were engaged once?" Lee stared at her, mouth agape.

"Yes, three years ago."

"What happened? Was he fool enough to break up with you?"

"No, he was killed. Murdered."

"By who?"

"His parents."

"His—what?"

"His parents were pure blooded and I'm half-blood."

"I can't believe it. How did his parents not love you? What's not to love about you?"

"Apparently my birth station."

"Look, Jess, I am so sorry."

"It's all right." Jessica took the last bite of her burger and looked at her watch. Her break was almost over and she had to walk back to the store. "I got to go, Lee, thanks so much for inviting me."

She reached into her purse and began to extract money to pay for her meal. Sadly, she realized that she did not have enough money. Thankfully, she did not have to reveal the fact since Lee stopped her, telling her that he would pay.

The sun was shining brightly off of the snow covered streets as Jessica left the Leaky Cauldron. She dodged a sleigh and trudged through the snow towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Children were having a snowball fight in a small area in which there was a fountain. Happy witches and wizards skated in a small pond. Jessica looked up at the bright sun, but she could not smile.

She was not sure exactly why. She remembered back to her talk with Lee about James. Somehow she could not help comparing his reaction to George's. She found that Lee's response was one of shock and not of tenderness as George's was. She remembered how George hugged her with the deepest compassion. _I cannot love him, can I? _A new dawn came over her face, but she drowned it almost immediately. She was in a relationship with Lee, not George. As Weasley's Wizard Wheezes came into view, Jessica shook her head free of thoughts of George. With new determination, she stepped into the store, resolute that she would not give in to her newly realized feelings toward George.


	9. Chapter 9

Thank you so much to my wonderful reviewers. I love you all. However, if it's not too much trouble, I would appreciate more reviews. It only takes a second to tell me that my grammar is atrocious or my characters are wooden, or tell me what I'm doing right. The story is finished, but it can be tweaked. I'm also looking for a beta reader. I may be a schoolteacher, but I'm not perfect. Ah, well, on with the show!

Christmas came so quickly, taking Jessica by surprise. At the last minute, Jessica put the decorations up in the store. It added slightly to the anticipation, but the idea of spending almost all of Christmas alone made her shiver. Sure, she had had lonely Christmases before, but this year, something inside her had stirred and she began to feel lonesome. One thing that helped her along was the idea of Christmas dinner with the Weasleys. Still, opening gifts alone made her so sad that she almost cried.

She sat inside the store watching the snow fall and the customers ooh and aah over the products. She was taking a short break from standing when Fred walked up to her, concealing something in his hands.

"Guess what came by express owl today?"

"What?" Jessica asked, her mind snapping into the present.

"A letter for you," Fred said gleefully.

"Really? Who would be writing me?" she asked, now intrigued.

"Well, I don't know for certain, but on the return address, it says _Quidditch_ _Monthly_."

"_Quidditch Monthly_, as in the magazine?"

"That's what I would expect. It's a rather large package, and I took the liberty of opening it."

Jessica jumped up, resisting the impulse to strangle Fred. "What if it was your Christmas gift?"

"I wish it was, but I think it is for a certain boyfriend, am I right?"

Jessica, surprisingly, did not blush. "Yes. Now give me my letter."

"Come and get it!" Fred challenged.

Jessica leapt up, trying to snatch the letter from his grip. It did not work and Fred whooped with laughter as he held it above her groping hands. George came up behind Fred and took it from his brother.

"Here," George said, handing the letter to Jessica.

"Thanks, George." She turned to Fred. "See, some people in this world are still nice to me!"

"You okay, bro?" Fred asked.

"I'm fine." George walked away quickly, avoiding eye contact.

Jessica opened her letter quickly.

_Dear Ms. Baine,_

_Congratulations! You have won four tickets to the January 23rd Puddlemere United game against the Wimbourne Wasps! Enclosed are your tickets. Your seats are in the top box, next to the announcer's box. Please be prompt in arrival at the game and again, congratulations._

_Quidditch Monthly_

Jessica leapt for joy, dancing around the store. "I won! I won! I won!"

Customers stared and finally, an annoyed George called after the dancing girl. "Yes, thank you, Jessica, we know you've won, now will you please be quiet?"

Jessica was not in the least bit taken aback by George's tone. Nothing could ruin her day now. She spent the rest of the day dancing and imagining what it would be like at the match. As they were closing up for Christmas, the tension in the room was so thick that no _reducto_ spell could cut it. She avoided his eyes as well, attempting to suppress her happiness while wishing that George would relax. Putting the finishing touches on a display, she walked up behind him and Fred, hugging them from behind.

"You guys want to come?"

"Where?" they asked at the same time.

"To the game, of course! Here, don't even try to say no. After being such great friends to me, you can't deny me giving you the chance of a lifetime!"

Fred grinned at Jessica while George managed to pull off half a smile.

"Sure!" Fred said immediately.

"Who would watch the store?" George asked practically.

"How about your brother and sister? I'm sure they wouldn't mind getting a few more dollars."

"Sounds fine with me," Fred said.

"All right," George consented.

Jessica beamed and handed them their tickets. "See you on Christmas Day!"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Christmas Day arrived crisp and clear, a fresh coating of snow covering the hills around Jessica's house. She jumped up, put a winter robe on and went for a walk in the powdery snow. The sun blazed down on her face as she made her way toward her favorite spot on her entire property: the spot where James had proposed.

Her eyes leaked tears on her chilled face as she stood by the oak tree where it all had happened. In her mind, she saw him bend down on one knee, jabbering on unsure of himself. When he had finally let the question drop, Jessica had gasped out a yes. He had jumped up and whirled her around through the air, her feet never touching the ground as his strong arms encircled her waist.

Finally, she gathered herself up and apparated to the Burrow, where the Weasley Headquarters was. The door was decorated with a wreath of mistletoe and garland, making her feel as though it was finally Christmas. She balled her fist to knock, but her hand never reached the door. It swung open, revealing Fred who was wearing an unusually large grin. Before she realized what had happened, she had punched Fred in the face.

"Nice to see you, too, Jess!" Fred laughed, rubbing his face and grimacing.

"I am so sorry, Fred!" Jessica said, hugging him.

"No, you aren't! You've always wanted to do that!"

"Well, yes, but not on Christmas! Where's the family?"

"Come in, they're all dying to meet you." Fred led her into the living room. She looked around at all the happy faces, most of them framed in red hair, standing around the Christmas tree. The room might have been shabby, but Jessica would have never noticed, because of the current of excitement running through the occupants. A round, smiling woman came and shook Jessica's hand.

"I'm Mrs. Weasley. So pleased to finally meet you, Jessica, the boys speak of no one other than you!"

"Then they must bore you immensely, Mrs. Weasley, because what conversational topic could be more boring than me?"

A hearty laugh spread across the room.

"I am sure that they do not exaggerate!"

"You have no idea, Mrs. Weasley."

Everyone laughed again, and Mrs. Weasley began the introductions. There was Ron, his fiancé Hermione, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny who stood proudly by her fiancé, the famous Harry Potter. Jessica shook each of their hands in turn, smiling shyly.

"We've heard so much about you, Jessica!" Ginny said, raising her eyebrow towards the twins.

Jessica looked at the twins suspiciously. "What have you told her?"

"Only about those times when you fell over the dungbombs—" Fred said. George caught on.

"—and the time you ate both a Fever Fudge and a Fainting Fancy at the same time—"

"—and that time that you set the Canary Creams on fire—"

"—and that time that you whacked Fred over the head with _The Monster Book of Monsters_—"

"—and the time I whacked both of you coconut heads with a coconut." Jessica finished.

"You whacked them with a coconut?" Ginny smiled. "They definitely deserved that one."

"Not yet, but one day," Jessica winked at Ginny. She giggled.

Ron stared at Jessica. "Are you the one that George will not stop talking about?"

Behind Jessica, George was making a line across his throat, mouthing the words _shut up, Ron_.

"George talks about me? What does he say?" Jessica asked, interested.

"Well…" Ron was enjoying this. "He says that you are beautiful, but he only can see your face—"

"I do not say that, Ron!" George said heatedly.

"No one ever told you that you talk in your sleep?" Ron smiled maliciously.

"All right, I'll unjinx your Cleansweep 13!" George exclaimed.

Ron winked at Jessica. "Ahh, blackmail."

Harry and Ginny collapsed in giggles while Bill and Charlie chuckled. Hermione took Ron's arm and gave him a Look.

"So, Jessica, Fred tells me that you are half muggle," Mr. Weasley said smiling. "Tell me, how do fellytones work?"

"Telephones?" Jessica smiled. George had told her that Mr. Weasley was in love with anything muggle. "Well, they run on wires through electricity."

"Ecklectricity?"

"Yes. I don't know exactly," Jessica said sadly.

"Well, that's all right. Can you tell me the function of a compluter and the interweb?"

"Well, muggles don't use books as much anymore, they go on to the _internet_ on their computer where they can find everything out. It also runs on electricity."

"Come, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley reprimanded. "I am sure she does not want to go into too much detail of the muggle world."

"It's all right, Mrs. Weasley," Jessica said, amused. "Anytime, Mr. Weasley."

"Absolutely."

"Well, I'm off to turn the ham," announced Mrs. Weasley.

"Would you like any help, Mrs. Weasley?"

"No, dear, I'm sure the boys would want to give you your presents."

"But do you need any help?"

"In all honesty, another girl back here would help immensely."

Hermione, Ginny, and Jessica headed back into the kitchen. The scent of cooking ham and chestnuts wafted up to their noses and they inhaled deeply.

As Mrs. Weasley checked the ham and the chestnuts, the girls set the table and put out the side dishes. Finally, all was ready for dinner. They all sat down and dug in. Everyone sang Mrs. Weasley's praises as they tasted the delicious ham, potatoes, chestnuts, green beans, and much more.

"So, Jessica, the boys tell me that you work for them almost every day," Mr. Weasley said. "How do you survive?"

Jessica almost snorted into her pumpkin juice. "They aren't that bad once you know what to expect. Maybe I'm just immune to annoyance now."

"Believe me, Jessica, you aren't immune," Fred put in, laughing.

"How often are you at work?"

"Every day but Sunday; that's my day off."

"Interesting. What do you do on your free day?"

"Honestly? I sit around and wish I was at work. Life is pretty boring without one or both Weasley twins around."

Mrs. Weasley smiled fondly. "Yes, the boys can be a bit rowdy, but life almost seems too quiet without them."

"Aww, mum, you never told us that! We'll have to come home more often!" Fred exclaimed, looking touched.

"Play a few pranks here and there!" George added.

"Hey, Ginny's wedding seems like the perfect opportunity, it's not too far off!"

"Good idea, bro!"

"Guys, if you ruin a wedding, you have me to answer to!" laughed Jessica with an evil gleam in her eye.

Fred and George sobered up slightly. Harry jumped in to the conversation. "Have they attacked your home yet? They came up to Ron and my flat the other day and splattered some sort of foul smelling swamp over the kitchen."

Jessica looked at the twins who attempted to look innocent. "No, they haven't, and they still don't know my address."

"Not true, Jessica, that one night you flooed me over there and I remembered the address," George laughed.

"You didn't!"

"I did!"

Jessica slapped her forehead. "Oh, well, I have enough security around my house. After all, there's a ghost that protects me!"

"Really?" asked Ron.

"Well, you'd have to try to pull something on me to find out."

Laughter spread across the table. Christmas cheer was infectious.

After dinner, everyone got up and headed back to the living room. Jessica reached into her pocket and retrieved an assortment of small, odd items.

"All right, I have gifts!" Jessica announced to the surprised faces around the room.

"But you've never even met us before, Jessica!" protested Ginny.

"I went shopping with George and he told me what you would like." Suspicious glances were cast about the room. "Don't worry, yours is not jinxed, hexed, or in any way prank related."

Ginny, Harry, Ron, and Hermione gave nervous laughs. Jessica pulled her wand out and transfigured a miniature teapot into a beautifully wrapped gift. "This is for Mrs. Weasley. Thank you so much for having me!"

Mrs. Weasley unwrapped her gift to find a new apron. It was candy cane striped with red apron strings. "Thank you, so much."

Jessica blushed as she transfigured a pen into another gift. "This is for Mr. Weasley. George told me all about your fascination with muggle artifacts, so I found the perfect one. I hope you don't mind that they aren't new."

The green paper fell to the ground to reveal a box full of electric plugs and batteries. Mr. Weasley's face glowed with pleasure as he thanked Jessica over and over.

Another gift was transfigured to yet another gift which was handed to Hermione. She opened it and gasped with delight. Contained in box was a necklace with a single initial on it. It had an 'H' on it in a swirling script. She put it on immediately, thanking Jessica.

"All right, Ginny, yours was the most fun when I found it. I hope you don't mind that it does not say this intentionally, but apparently, there's a whole line of items related to it."

Curious, Ginny ripped the paper open and laughed out loud. She held up a baby blue t-shirt that said 'The Future Mrs. Potter'. Everyone else had a good laugh over that one. "Thanks, Jessica!"

Ron opened his gift next to find a set of quills and inkwells of red and black no-spot ink. "Sorry, Ron, but George told me that you have a tendency to have lots of spots on your parchments."

"No, it's great, Jessica!"

Harry got the same gift, only his had green and black ink. He smiled and thanked Jessica. Charlie and Bill opened their gifts up next, smiling as they picked up their Firebolt 2 models.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find anything more manly, but I hope you like these," Jessica apologized. She did not have a need to. Bill immediately got his out and watched it zoom around his head after the small snitch enclosed in it.

"And last, but not least," Jessica said with a smile, "My favorite twins."

She carefully transfigured two identically wrapped gifts and handed them to Fred and George. Trying to hold a smile back, she watched as they unwrapped them.

Two hats fell out of the paper. They looked at her, identical eyebrows raised. "Come on, put them on!" she encouraged. With a suspicious look at their friend, they put the hats on their heads. At once, the identical heads turned into identical coconuts. The room burst out in laughter. Mr. Weasley, though laughing, was looking around confusedly.

"Is there an inside joke I'm missing?"

"Sorry, Mr. Weasley, but the answer is yes," gasped Jessica through her laughter.

The boys snatched the hats off and looked menacingly at Jessica, though their own withheld laughter was breaking through. "Clever, clever, but wait until you see our gift to you!"

Jessica stopped in mid giggle. When George came back with the gift, Jessica was relieved to see that it was merely an envelope. She opened it slowly. Out fell a key and a note. Being polite, she read the note first before examining the key.

_Dear Jessica,_

_After all your long and hard work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, we have seen fit to offer you a ten galleon raise. The key enclosed is the key to the vault at Gringotts where your bonus is included._

Jessica looked up in surprise. "Ten galleons and a bonus?" The twins merely pointed down at the rest of the letter, smiling.

_You have been such a great friend to us, and we fear that we have not been as great of a friend in return. (We fear that eight non-annoyance hours are not enough to show how much you mean to us) In addition to your pay raise, we would like to invite you to the Bahamas when we take a break in March. Lee will be invited._

_Your dear friends, _

_FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY_

Jessica stared at her friends for a moment. "You mean that?"

"Of course!" they exclaimed together. "Will you come?"

She stood up slowly, overwhelmed by the friendship they were showing. "Absolutely!"

She wrapped the both of them up in a hug and before they knew what was happening, she kissed them both on the cheek and squeezed them again. After they were released, George's face turned as red as his hair and he tried to turn away, but Jessica was too excited to realize his expression.

The rest of the evening was filled with games and Christmas merriment, and as Jessica was about to apparate home, Mrs. Weasley stopped her.

"I have never seen my boys so content, George exceptionally so. I am sure that your friendship means so much to them."

"I don't know what I would be without them. They are wonderful boys. You have raised them so well." Mrs. Weasley blushed. "Thank you so much for your kindness."

She hugged Mrs. Weasley and stepped out the door to apparate home. Barely three steps outside, George appeared behind her.

"Jessica," he said, slightly nervous. She turned quickly.

"Yes?"

"I know that Fred and I gave you a gift, but I have one from just me."

"You didn't have to do that, George," she said, her eyes misting over. Without thinking, though, her hand had closed over the small package. Tears came to her eyes as she saw the gift. It was wrapped painstakingly well. "It's the most beautifully wrapped gift I've ever seen."

"It's even more beautiful on the inside," George smiled at her. Almost afraid to ruin the beautiful wrapping, she carefully opened it and slid a small white box. In the box was the necklace that Jessica had coveted when they went shopping. It glittered in the cold sunlight and Jessica held it to her heart. "May I?" he asked softly. He took the necklace from the box and Jessica lifted her brown locks and turned around. George's breath hitched as he reached around her exposed white neck and secured the jewelry. As Jessica turned around again to face him, George explained haltingly. "I saw you when you spotted this. I've never seen you want something like this so much. As soon as I noticed it, I got it for you. I don't know why I did it, but you deserve something more than money."

Sniffling, she threw her arms around George's neck. "It's the most wonderful Christmas gift I've ever gotten," she choked out into George's ear. She did not let go immediately, but the two of them found peace just sitting there, arms wrapped around each other. George closed his eyes, breathing her in, but Jessica came to her senses and let go, her cheeks a little pink, and apparated.

From the window, Fred watched the exchange with utter delight. Things were going perfectly.

A/N: Whoa, I put my note at the END this time! Anyway, I was feeling very Christmasy (I'm home from Japan on break!) so I decided to update before going caroling! Thank you so much to my reviewers, I love you all! Merry Christmas to all!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After Christmas, time passed smoothly. Everything stayed the same between friends, Fred encouraging her and there, George remaining slightly aloof. Lee and Jessica had two more lunch dates, but Jessica had come to the conclusion that she was going to break up with Lee on the day of the Quidditch match. She could not take it anymore. After countless battles with her conscience, Jessica knew that she liked George.

Nevertheless, she held to her original plan for the match. Fred and George had known Oliver Wood, a star keeper for Puddlemere United and Jessica owled him before the match, asking a favor of him. An express owl came back with a letter of the affirmative. Even though Jessica did not like Lee, her secret made her burst with laughter at every thought of it.

The day of the match dawned on a gray sky, but it soon changed to sun. Ron, Harry, and Ginny showed up at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on time and they were given instructions on how to keep the store. Fred and George were afraid to leave the shop with their younger siblings and Harry, but Jessica reassured them that it would all be okay.

Excitement swelled as the foursome apparated to the Puddlemere Quidditch Pitch. They were met by reporters from Quidditch Monthly. To Jessica's surprise, the photographer shot pictures of the foursome and led them to their seats which were right near the Puddlemere end. The air was thin in the top box, but anticipation was thick.

Three minutes before the Quaffle was to be released, a paper airplane flew into their box. It was addressed to Lee. Jessica encouraged him to open it. With one look inside, Lee nearly fainted.

_Mr. Johnson, your attendance is requested in the Announcer's Box immediately._

Fred and George looked at Jessica with matching suspicious faces.

"Come on, Lee, we have to move!"

The three of them picked Lee up and carried him to the Announcer's Box. Inside the box was the elderly hall of fame announcer Elsard Brenner. Lee excitedly shook hands.

"Well, Mr. Johnson, I have been informed that this is your dream. Please fulfill it."

Lee stared at him in awe before tapping his throat with his wand. "_Sonorus_" In front of him were papers listing the names of all the Quidditch players, different companies he was supposed to endorse, and a book of Quidditch moves. Tapping his throat with his wand, Elsard called across the field in a resounding voice.

"Welcome, witches and wizards, to this cooooold morning! Today, Puddlemere United faces off the Wimbourne Wasps. Puddlemere has a slight advantage being on home turf, and I have an advantage as well, having a second announcer! Say hi, Lee!"

Lee hesitated for a moment. Jessica, giggling with happiness, squeezed his shoulder. "Hello, all, this is Lee Johnson! Who's ready to meet our visitors?" Cheers filled the crowd. "All right, everyone, we have Ardgall! Sullivan! Fergus! Balcombe! Bunbry! And… CARTRET!" Lee's voice became more confident as he moved into his comfort zone. "Now, give it up for the home team! Barnard! Drummond! Halifax! Meiclejohn! (Did I pronounce that right?) And fellow Gryffindors from the good old days, Wood! And… POTTER!"

An enormous amount of girlish screams filled the stadium. Jessica held up her ominoculars to see Ginny Weasley sitting in the stands with a look of slight dislike on her face.

"Careful, girls, he's engaged!" Lee let out. Ginny smiled slightly, showing off her _Future Mrs. Potter_ shirt. "All right! The Quaffle has been released! Barnard of Puddlemere takes possession, passes to Drummond…"

The game carried on, Lee commentating with the help of Elsard. Puddlemere won and after the game, Oliver and Harry met Lee in the locker room. Lee smile was contagious as he got everyone's autograph. The twins apparated home to check on the state of the store while Jessica and Lee took a stroll through the stores around the pitch.

"Jessica, that was the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten!"

"You're welcome, Lee," she answered half heartedly.

"What's wrong, Jess?"

Jessica took a deep breath and turned to look Lee directly in the face. "Look, I'm sorry, Lee, for dragging this on, but I have to tell you the honest truth. I don't think we should continue together."

"Why not?" Lee looked into her eyes, surprised.

"You want the blunt truth?"

"Preferably."

"I don't like you as more than a friend. I've tried, but I can't. I'm so sorry." Lee just looked at her for a moment before laughing out loud. Jessica stared at him in shock. "What is so funny? I just broke up with you!"

"That's what's so funny! Look, I have something to tell you in return. I've never liked you as more than a friend either. I've never had to try."

"What?"

"You are very observant, Jessica," Lee said through his smiles and laughter. "You saw that Fred is becoming more independent and wanting less time with George, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, he came up with this plot on his own. I would take you out and date you for a while, and make George jealous."

"Jealous of what?"

"Come on, Jessica; don't tell me that you don't like him."

"WHAT?" she screamed. A few passersby turned their heads. In a quieter voice she added. "How did you know that?"

"I'm glad you aren't denying it. I've seen the way you look at him. The secrets that pass between your eyes silently. I've also seen the way he looks at you."

"You really think George likes me?"

"Honestly, I think he loves you, but you know George."

"What?"

"He's too stupid to realize it. That's where the jealousy plot comes in."

"You are going to make him jealous of you? Lee, you realize you put your life on the line, right?"

"Yeah, but Fred promised me protection. Look, all we have to do is go on pretending that nothing happened between us. Everything will fall into place. All I know is that you just made my job ten times easier."

Jessica smiled. "Those twins sure are evil and conniving."

"You could say that again. Now, what do you say to our evil plot?"

Jessica put her hand up. "To our evil plot." They slapped high five and walked away.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I apologize for the delay; I've been insanely busy what with being in the States for break, etc., but you really don't care...On with the story!

Bursting with giddiness, Jessica apparated to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes the next morning. _George likes me, George likes me!_ The phrase echoed through her mind again and again. At work, George watched her dance around the store gracefully and completely misjudged the cause of her happiness. Fred looked on as well, but he knew better. Lee had come over last night and had told him about recent occurrences in their plan. Fred smiled before turning back to his inventory sheet.

_George likes me, George likes me!_ Jessica took a lady's order with a glowing smile. The lady grinned back at her. The smiles were contagious.

Later in the day, Jessica was doing demonstrations with the Canary Creams, Headless Hats, Fainting Fancies, and the most recent hat development, Coconut Conks. Small children flocked around her as she burst into bright yellow feathers. George stopped what he was doing to watch her as her head disappeared. Without her face beaming smiles to the entire world like rays of sunshine, Jessica was not the same. Her head appeared and he forced himself to look away.

A moment later, his eyes rested on her again as she took a bite of a Fainting Fancy. She swooned beautifully with the back of her hand theatrically touching her forehead as she fell back onto a cushion. An excited child took the privilege of popping the antidote into her mouth. Right away, she stood up, laughing and thanking the young girl.

_She has a boyfriend, George, _his mind told him.

_It's not wrong to look at my friend, is it?_

_But she can't be more._

He sighed._ I know, but it is so hard to know that she is with someone other than me._

_Which would you rather have? Her happy or with no one, and her unhappy?_

_I would wish her happiness over anything in the world._

Continually, George fought his mind, telling himself to stop liking her while half wishing that she liked him back.

Lee walked into the store and George's heart sunk to his ankles. Lee flirtatiously walked up behind Jessica where she was putting a Valentine's Day decoration up. She turned around and smiled as well. They hugged, then she pushed him away, giggling, telling him that she had to get back to work. In her ear, he whispered an invitation to dinner. She accepted with a coy smile.

George could not bear to watch. He walked into the storeroom to calm down, but it was no good. Over the next month, he forgot about the twenty galleons at stake and instead watched longingly as Jessica would wrap her arms about his shoulders and kiss his cheek. The trip was coming up, and George was seriously thinking about not going, but time without Jessica seemed so empty that he set his mind to go. Wonderful suffering: this is what he felt; the suffering of a man in love.

The week before the departure for the Bahamas, Jessica went on a date with Lee. They did not have to act like a couple on these dates, so they were more laid back. Over dinner, Jessica laid her heart out before Lee.

"I can't take this anymore. I see how much I hurt him, Lee, I see it, and I can't take it!"

"Just a little bit longer," Lee encouraged.

"That's what you said on Valentines Day: just a little bit longer, and he'll realize it. Lee, the problem is that he has realized it and he doesn't want to hurt me by taking you away. Don't you get it? It tears my heart in two! I can't do this!"

"Come on, Jessica, you are doing great! Promise me that you will keep up the phasod halfway through the Bahamas trip."

Jessica looked at Lee, anguish in her eyes. "All right," she sighed. "But no longer."

"Will you make the first move?" Lee asked, smiling.

"No way, Lee, are you crazy?"

"Well, you are so much in love with the guy, and he loves you!"

"If he loves me, he'll come up. He's doing the honorable thing by letting us continue, you realize that, right?"

"I guess. I never understood it, never having had a real girlfriend."

"I was your girlfriend for a little while, Lee, remember? I wasn't faking for a while."

Lee smiled. "You're right, Jess, you're right!"

At the end of the date, Jessica went back to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She had to pick a few things up. Thinking it was empty, she vented frustration out loudly inside the darkened room. She sunk down to the floor, screaming in agony. It softened to a quiet crying, but the pain inside her was deep. A shadowy figure appeared before her eyes as she lifted them from her arms. Without thinking, she flung herself into George's arms, sobbing.

Taken by surprise, George simply wrapped his arms around her, unsure of the cause of her crying, but sure in the knowledge that she was his friend and he must comfort her. She wept into his shoulder for a good ten minutes before she wiped her eyes and looked up into George's silhouetted face.

"Thanks," she said, rubbing her cheeks.

"You all right, Jess? Did Lee break up with you?" He asked, a bit too eager for a positive answer to the second question.

Jessica hiccupped on her tears. "No, he did not break up with me. I was just—just venting a bit of frustration. I'm fine now, thank you."

"You don't seem fine. Do you need to cry anymore?"

"No, I'll apparate home and cry on my lonely pillow in my lonely bed, in my lonely room in my lonely house."

"Are you lonely?"

"A little, but I'll be fine. You go home, George, Fred'll be wondering where you are."

"Only when I know that you won't cry anymore," he answered, sticking his jaw out stubbornly.

Jessica looked up at her amazingly sweet friend. She wiped her eyes one more time. "I promise I won't cry."

"All right. Can you stand?" he asked as he slowly let her out of his arms. Her knees were a little weak, but she nodded the affirmative. He apparated home, thinking of her.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This is nowhere near my favorite chapter. In fact, it is most unlike my character to have such a sappy chapter, but what's done is done. It's also short. And three chapters away from the end (not counting the epilogue). I'd like to give a shout-out to my reviewers. Y'all are great. Wonderful. Magnificent. Stupendous. Fantabulous. There is no way for me to describe how much a little note of encouragement or even critique brightens my day. No, I don't sit around doing nothing, but I do enjoy knowing that someone cares. Hehe, I'm also rather high on chocolate-covered espresso beans, hence the long and pointless note. Ah, well, read on, dear reader.

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Jessica walked around her quiet house, reveling in the peacefulness. It was the day before she was supposed to leave for the Bahamas and anticipation filled her along with some remorse for her fake relationship with Lee. The lie was wearing thin on her. The twins had given her the day off and they were training Ginny, Ron, and Hermione to watch the store during the twins' absence.

During her wanderings, she found herself standing in front of the attic door. Almost subconsciously, she opened the door and lit the candles. The flickering light was shed on boxes and miscellaneous items. She walked to the nearest box, marked _James' Stuff_. She smiled. _Just like him. Stuff. How descriptive._ She opened it up. Inside was James's wand, pictures of James, and stacks of clothes. As she dug through, her hand touched something paper. She removed the layers of clothes to reveal stacks of the epistles that they had written to each other during their engagement. She took the first one and slid out the yellowing parchment inside.

_My Dearest Jessica,_

_How I long to be near you! I have your picture open beside me, but it is nothing compared to your beauty. I love you so much, and I cannot wait for our wedding day. How are the preparations coming? I hope that Mr. Jens is behaving himself. That cat always has a way of ripping anything important to shreds. I hope he does not rip this letter up._

The letter continued to ask questions and tell about his daily life, but it ended on a warning note.

_My dear, my darling, I fear for our lives. My parents have discovered our engagement and will surely come for me soon. We must be prepared and ready. I pray, my dear, that you will protect yourself if I do not make it. If (and I do hope it never happens) I do not make it to our wedding day and beyond, I ask you to guard yourself._

_I know it sounds odd, but I beg you, that if you do not marry me, that you would marry someday, for love. I know that you are such a wonderful person, and there must be someone else out there for you. I would be jealous of the man that marries you, but I know that I want you to be happy, and therefore, I beg you, again, to get married one day._

_All my love,_

_James_

Tears fell from Jessica's face. "How could I have been so stupid? He told me not to fall into the trap of sadness, and here I am! He tells me to marry for love. I will hold out for the right man, whether it is George or not. Thank you, James, thank you!"

She clutched the letter to her chest before retrieving the rest of them from the box as well as the pictures of the two of them together. She walked down the steps slowly, careful not to cry onto the precious letters she was holding to her bosom.

Later, she was packing her trunk with clothes to bring on the trip. She pulled out her old black swimsuit. She slipped it on. It still fit, thankfully. She turned in front of the mirror, scrutinizing her form and gasped. There was a large hole in the back of the suit that made it impossible to wear. She slumped to the floor, wondering where she would find a swimsuit that would fit her budget. Though the twins had given her a bonus, she had factored it into her long time budget and could find no place to splurge on a new swimsuit.

Jessica stared at the hole in the swimsuit before an idea dawned. Still dressed in the ripped suit, she ran to the abandoned bedroom. Surprisingly, there was only a slight touch of something missing as she rushed in and opened the closet, looking beyond the wedding dress to a small suitcase in the corner. She engorged it to its normal size and opened it, tearing through for what she was looking for. Finally, she held it up for inspection.

It was a turquoise tankini suit that she had bought with James on their visit to America. She walked back to her bedroom and donned it. It fit perfectly. Smiling sadly, she dressed and packed the suit in her trunk. On a whim, she ran upstairs and retrieved the surfboard and boogie board that her muggle mother had gotten her on her fifteenth birthday. She shrunk and packed them safely in a corner of her trunk. This was going to be the best trip ever, if George would just do something about the feelings that were waging war in his heart and mind.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So, it's winding down, and the cheesiness of the story abounds, but I promise you, it will get better. I beg of you to review though. I thrive off of reviews and I can proofread future chapters better if I get creative criticism. I cannot tell you how much reviews make my day.

The day of the trip arrived, and Jessica could not help herself from waking up an hour before she was supposed to. She gathered her things and apparated to the store. To her surprise, Fred, George, and Lee were already there. Since they, too, were ready, they left the store in the care of Ginny, Ron, and Hermione and went to Wizard Customs.

A bored witch took Jessica's wand, weighed it and took measurement of it, doing the same with the others' wands. Finally, they had their passports and headed to the portkey booths. A wizard checked their passports before leading the foursome to a small tin ring that had been set on a small pedestal. They each grabbed a piece and waited. The wizard stood there, counting off.

"Three…two…one!"

There was a jerk from somewhere behind her navel, and Jessica was flying through the air, spinning at an alarming rate. Then, the ground came underneath her feet abruptly. Surprised, her knees buckled and she found herself flat on the beach, mouth full of snow. Coughing, she stood and picked her trunk up. Then she looked around.

It was beautiful. The beach went on for miles, and there was no one on it yet, save the four of them. The sun was just rising, red and gold. The water lapped at her sandal covered feet and she smiled with happiness. She turned around to see a large collection of huts. Apparently, that was the resort they were staying at. The largest hut had a sign that said 'Registration' on it.

Fred led the way to the Registration hut through the sand. Jessica struggled with her trunk. George looked back to see her lagging and stepped back to help her. She was glad to let him carry her trunk, and again, she told herself how kind he was.

A witch in a grass skirt and uniform top greeted them behind the counter.

"What can I do for you?"

"We are here to get our keys. Weasley, two huts?"

"Oh, yes, of course," the witch said accommodatingly. She retrieved two keys and gave them to Fred. "Huts twenty four and twenty five. Breakfast is served in the dining hut which is right next door, but you can also request meals in your rooms. The charm is _Rovicioi_."

"Thank you," Fred said as he handed a key to Jessica. "You get a hut to yourself."

"Thanks," she said. Fred and Lee headed off to their huts, but George lugged Jessica's trunk to her hut. She opened the door and led him in. He dropped her trunk on the floor.

"What did you pack? Bricks?"

"Har, har. No, just clothes and a few beach toys."

"What beach toys do a twenty year old need?"

"You'll see. Meet me at the beach in a half an hour. Tell the other guys, too."

"Sure." George was becoming conscious that he was in a hut all alone with the girl he liked. "I'll go right now."

He left and Jessica ripped through her bag for her swimsuit. Putting it on, she grabbed her boogie board and surfboard and headed out to the beach. The boys had not arrived yet, so she engorged the surfboard and caught the waves in the early morning sun.

In a few minutes, the boys arrived at the beach, but they did not see her.

"Hey, Fred, check out that girl there," Lee said, pointing at a turquoise clad girl on a floating board.

"Whoo! Can you say hot? You have got to love those chicks from the Bahamas," Fred answered.

"Lee, you have a girlfriend!" George reminded Lee.

"Oh, yeah. What's she riding?"

"No idea, but she's pretty hot," Fred said. "Ow!"

Lee had placed two fingers into his mouth and whistled long and loud right next to Fred's ear. The girl looked up from her wave and wiped out from surprise. As she got out of the water, a knot tightened in George's stomach.

"I don't think that's some girl, Lee," George said warily.

"What?"

"Hey, guys," Jessica said, gripping her surfboard and surveying the threesome. "Lee, do you always whistle at girls when they're trying to surf?"

"That's what you were doing?" Lee asked.

"Nice dodge," Fred whispered.

"Yeah. It's a muggle surfboard. Mum gave it to me on my fourteenth birthday. I love this thing."

"I see," Fred answered, still shocked that a girl he had thought hot had turned out to be Jessica.

"Anyone want to try?" Jessica asked.

At first, no one volunteered, but then George bravely stepped forward. After George tried, the others wanted to try, and soon, they were taking turns on the surfboard and the boogie board. They surfed and swam for hours before going in for lunch. They returned in full force to the waves, laughing and splashing water at each other.

It was in moments like these that George wished that Jessica was his. His heart ached again as he longed to take her hand and run away from Lee and Fred, but he restrained himself. Instead, George watched as Lee took the hand that he wanted, touched the arm of the girl that he loved, and walk away on a seaside stroll.

O my word, cheese abounds. Please read on. Next chapter is better.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Oh my word, you came! This is my favorite chapter! Thanks for sticking with me! Two more chapters to go: the end and the epilogue.

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The next night at five o'clock, Lee took Jessica out to dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. It made its money from muggle seafood cuisine. Jessica ordered crab cakes and Lee ordered salmon. The food was delicious, but Jessica's mind was elsewhere.

"Today was great!" Lee said, trying to bring Jessica out of her shell.

"Yeah," came the absentminded reply.

Lee reached over and touched her hand. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Today was great. I loved the surfboarding and those kids are really fun to help on the surfboard," she said, trying to convince Lee that she was all right.

They finished their food and Lee took the check. The sun was just setting. "Let's go for a walk on the beach, all right?"

He took her hand and led her to the shore. Jessica looked away from lee to the setting sun.

"Jessica, I know that you aren't fine. Now, because you're my friend, I'm going to find out what's wrong."

Jessica whirled on Lee. "You know what's wrong, Lee! I can't take this anymore. The look on George's face to the fact that he ate nothing for breakfast or lunch today is what's wrong. I can't stand it. I can't torture him any longer. I know we said that we would hold out until halfway through the week, but I am breaking his heart and I know it."

"Come on, it isn't that bad. Don't you think you're being a bit melodramatic?"

"I wish I was, but I know that he isn't himself. I know that he will at least feel better if he knows that we aren't together. Let me break it off, please! I don't care what Fred or you will do, I just want it to end. It's breaking my heart as well as his!"

"All right, Jess, all right, but we have to finish tonight. After all, I have a date with you."

Jessica's finger was an inch from Lee's face, her eyes flaming. "If you carry this on any longer—"

"Jess, I promise that it'll be over tonight," Lee said, now looking scared.

"All right." She relaxed and took his hand again. "The sunset is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

George was fighting with himself. He lay on his bed, forcing himself to forget about Jessica, but he knew that the only way to do that was to leave. He looked over at his window. The sun was creating red and gold streaks across the sky. The silhouette of a happy couple passed, blocking his view of the sun. Whether it was Jessica or not, it tortured him. With a decisive motion, he reached for his money bag and counted out twenty galleons.

In the kitchen area of the hut, Fred was sitting at the table imagining the completion of his plan. He wanted more freedom so badly. He thought of Jessica and George together and smiled. Behind him a door opened forcefully.

"You win." A bag of gold hit the table with surprising force as Fred's face jerked up to see George standing in the doorway.

"What?"

"You win the bet. Who am I fooling? Jessica is happy with Lee. I'm going to customs now to head back to the store and relieve Ron and Ginny."

"George, George, slow down," Fred said, trying to calm his brother down.

"No, I won't. I've finally figured it out. I love Jessica, but she loves Lee. I'm doing her a favor by leaving." George picked his trunk up and heaved it to the door. Fred ran and tried to block George's way.

"Don't do this, George."

"Get out of my way."

"No."

George reached for his wand. "Don't make me do this."

Fred stepped aside slowly. "George, wait!"

"No, I've had my heart torn to shreds," George said as he leapt for the door, dragging his trunk with him. He slid the trunk into the sand and began moving away from the hut.

"George, there's something you don't know!" Fred yelled after his brother's retreating figure.

George stopped in its tracks. "What don't I know, Fred?"

"Come back inside, George, and I'll tell you."

Grudgingly, George pulled his trunk back into the hut and sat down at the table. "Tell me."

Fred became nervous. "I never thought I'd be telling you this, but she's not in love with Lee, it's a setup."

"WHAT?" George nearly screamed, ready to kill his brother.

"How else would you have realized that you were in love with her?"

"How else would my heart have been torn to pieces, you mean."

Fred rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "George, if I had told you that you were in love, would you have believed me?"

"No, but—"

"But what? You know it."

"There's something else behind this. When did you come up with this plot?"

"About the end of November."

"Thought so. That's when I noticed you stopped wanting more freedom. If you had wanted to get out on your own, you could have just told me."

"But it was so much more fun this way," Fred could not help adding.

George was adamant. "What? Tearing all that I knew to pieces? You forced me to question my very being!"

"Well, how often do men do that?"

George looked close to the point of strangling his brother.

"Look, George, I am sorry."

"We really are coconut heads, aren't we?"

"What?"

"Jessica's right. We are so hard headed and stupid."

Fred looked at his brother before breaking out in laughter. "You are so right, bro, so right."

They laughed for a minute before George looked at the waning sunset. "I'd better go."

He sprinted out into the evening. Fred looked after him, reveling in the fact that his evil plot had finally worked.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Well, here it is. The end. Sort of. Enjoy.

Lee was minding his own business, walking with Jessica along the shore when he was hit in the back of the head with a coconut.

"WHAT THE?!?" Lee exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. George smiled at him, picking the coconut up. "What did you do that for?"

"For making me think you and Jessica are a couple."

"We are a couple!"

"No we aren't, Lee, where'd your mind go?" Jessica asked, frustrated.

"We are a couple until midnight."

"Unless George came up doing something like this," Jessica reminded him.

"Well, he wasn't supposed to hit me with a coconut," Lee answered adamantly.

Jessica took the coconut from George. "Would it help if_ I_ hit you with a coconut?" Her eyes flashed.

"Umm, n-no, that's fine. I'll j-just go back to the hut now, I guess," he stuttered as he turned and ran.

Jessica and George laughed for a moment before looking at each other. The sea breeze blew Jessica's hair back from her face as her eyes sparkled. George drew courage from her smiling face before he spoke.

"I talked to Fred," he said softly. "He told me that you and Lee had been pretending all this time to be a couple." Jessica made to cut in, but George put a hand up. "I was ready to leave. My bags were packed up and I was dragging my trunk out of the hut when he told me that it was a setup. I could not have been more relieved." He looked at her questioningly. "Why did you do it? Why did you pretend to be in love with someone else?"

"Well, at first, I was not pretending. I seriously thought that Lee liked me. But the day of the Quidditch match, I broke up with him. He told me about the plot. I can have no excuses when I tell you that I went along with the plan. Tonight, I 'broke up' with Lee again, and he told me that we would have to be 'together' until the end of our walk. It hurt me so much to see you hurting."

"Well, I was hurting, but my heart healed in an instant when I found out that I had a chance for your heart." George took her hands tentatively. "Would you give me a chance to see if your heart can be mine?"

Jessica looked confidently into George's eyes. "It already is."

George wanted to leap and shout, but instead he drew Jessica to him and enfolded her in his arms. From behind, he heard snickering. Jessica broke away.

"That better be the ocean, coconut heads!" she yelled as she picked up the coconut that she had recently been threatening Lee with. George got another one. Two heads, one red, one black, went sprinting into the palm trees as Jessica and George readied their weapons.

"One, two, three, fire!" George yelled, and he and Jessica threw their coconuts as hard as they could. Two satisfying yelps drifted to them on the ocean breeze and George and Jessica fell against each other, laughing.

Long after the sun had set, the twosome walked along the shoreline talking about anything and everything, drinking in the ocean air and the idea that they were each other's. Together, they made their way back to their huts and said goodnight.


	17. Epilogue

A/N: This is the epilogue, set one year later. I had so much fun writing this story and I hope you have enjoyed it as well. Thank you for sticking it out through the cheesy and stupid parts, and I appreciate all of your reviews. I love you all. You don't know how happy you make a simple schoolteacher living in Japan. Speaking of reviews, please do. But above all, enjoy.

"_Come on, coconut head, you're missing the best waves!" Jessica called back to George. They were back in the Bahamas. George had his own surfboard and was now attempting to keep up with his girlfriend._

"_Not on your life!" he called back to her. He sped up his stroking and stood up on his board. The wave curved above the two of them as they rode it together. Laughing, Jessica whooped with success. George came up beside her and tipped her surfboard. Without coming up, Jessica swam underneath her boyfriend's and overturned his board. Sputtering and smiling, they both resurfaced and mounted their boards again for another go at the waves._

_The sun was setting now, and they dried off. George remained shirtless while Jessica tied a breezy sarong around her waist. George had walked a little ahead. Jessica ran up behind him and jumped on his back. He set off at a run, carrying her. He set her down near a cluster of palm trees. There were a few coconuts on the ground. Jessica pointed and smiled._

"_You want one?" George asked._

"_No, your head is enough of a coconut, George," Jessica said, laughing. "A very cute coconut."_

"_Thanks," George answered, taking his girlfriend's hand as they walked the beach._

_Suddenly, the sky was alight in red and gold as the sun hit the water and reflected off of it. Jessica gasped and turned her face towards the beauty around her._

"_It's beautiful!" she breathed._

"_You see this spot, Jessica?" George asked as he stopped walking._

"_Yes."_

"_Do you remember what happened here last year?"_

"_You hit Lee on the back of the head with a coconut?"_

"_Okay, that too, but this is where the evil plot came to an end for us and you told me that you'd be my girlfriend."_

"_Well, this would have been a good spot for me to give you my anniversary gift to you, but I already gave it to you."_

"_I love the surfboard, Jess, I really do. But I guess I could give you my gift to you."_

"_You could."_

_George withdrew a tiny coconut shaped box from his swimsuit's cargo pocket. Jessica gasped as he knelt down on one knee and opened the box. A diamond ring glittered in the red and golden sunset._

"_I have loved you ever since Fred's evil plan was put into motion. Now, Jessica, his entire plan will come true. Will you marry me?"_

_A tear coursed down Jessica's cheek as she lifted her eyes to George's hopeful ones. "George--I--"_

_The ginger head lowered sadly, looking down at the sand dejectedly._

_ "--I would love to."  
_

_George jumped up and whirled his fiancé around, kicking up sand. He set her down and took her hand. The ring sparkled as he slipped it onto her finger. He looked up, but did not let go of her hand. His eyes seemed captivated by one thing. Slowly, their lips touched. As the kiss deepened, Jessica was sure that James would be smiling at them in all his jealousy and love  
_

THE END

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Cheese, anyone?


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